Princess Diana Remembered

Voice 2:And I’m Rachel Hobson. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1:The thirty-first of August, 1997. Many people remember where they were on that day. They remember what they were doing when they heard the terrible news - Princess Diana had died. No one was more affected than her two sons Prince William and Prince Harry. Ten years later the princes have become men. And they wanted to remember their mother in a special way. So they planned a concert and a memorial service in her honour.

Voice 2:In today’s Spotlight we tell of the memorial service. We remember the life of the princess. We tell of the aid organizations that she supported. Is progress still being made? Is her life’s work continuing?

Voice 1:On the thirty-first of August, 2007, five hundred people arrived for the special memorial service at the Guards’ Chapel in London. Many of them were important to Diana. They were her friends and family members. They were people from the aid groups that she represented. Other people came too - famous politicians and singers. They were all invited by the princes. This day was a very important day to them. They wanted everything to be the way their mother would have wanted.

Voice 2:William was only fifteen when his mother died. Harry was twelve. Now as a twenty-five year old man, William stood before the people gathered in the church. With a calm voice he read from the Christian Bible. For Spotlight, Tony Ford reads a shortened version of what William read:

Voice 3:“I pray that... God may strengthen you in your inner being with power through his Spirit. And that Christ Jesus may live in your hearts through faith. May you have power... to understand Christ’s love. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is... God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. Give God glory through all time. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21

Voice 1:Then Prince Harry stood up. He went to the front of the church. He had prepared a speech in honour of his mother. Again, Tony Ford tells part of what he said:

Voice 3:“Our mother will always be remembered for her amazing public work. But behind the fame, to us, just two loving children, she was… simply the best mother in the world...

“Put simply, she made us, and so many other people, happy. May this be the way that she is remembered.”

Voice 1:The memorial service lasted for one hour. The final song was a special one. It is called ‘I Vow to Thee My Country’ - I promise to be true to my country. This song was played years before at her marriage.

Voice 2:Prince Harry said that Diana made so many people happy. But why do so many people still remember Diana with such love? Maybe it was because of her kindness and gentle way. Maybe it was because she seemed to care so much for powerless people.

Voice 1:Diana was involved with over one-hundred and fifty [150] aid organizations during her life. Included in this group were the National AIDS Trust that works with HIV and AIDS sufferers, and the Leprosy Mission, which treats sufferers of the disease leprosy.

Voice 2:Leprosy is caused by bacteria. It causes people to lose feeling in their bodies. And often they injure their hands, faces and other body parts. Other people become frightened by the way leprosy sufferers look.